Used unmarked Stamps

[SaidDuran]

omgitscaro, you are absolutely right..I also did not know it..Thanks all of you for yout help..

[Phoebe]

UK stamps have a vertical band across them which you can see if you hold them to the light (or better still a UV light), I'm not 100% sure as to how the process works but they contain a chemical which is tagged or de-magnetised by the sorting machines.

I recently got a letter which looked to have 'unused' stamps as they had been peeled off another envelope and some didn't have evidence of franking over the top, but had obviously been through the machines a second time and found to have been used once already, and I had to pay 97p postage plus £1 handling fee. So if you sent something with a used second-class stamp and they discovered it, the recipient has to pay the cost of the stamp plus £1 regardless, with the hassle of having to actually collect it from a sorting depot as the postal workers can't accept money at the door.

Wow, I didn't realise they do that! I don't risk it most of the time.

Phoebe

[margotchanning]

I've never done it but I don't think it's the worst crime in the world if you're short on stamps